In our first Beyond Running interview, we had the chance to ask Pascale, a Cape Town based runner and climber, about her experiences. One line that particularly stood out is how she finds ‘Climbing to be more of a mental challenege than physical, because training your muscles is easier than training your mind to trust them’.
What inspired you to start climbing?
My brother actually, and then my mom. Most of the sports I’ve done have started with him. He’d always drag me along and I guess participating felt more productive than just sitting on the sidelines watching. I fell in love with it and then started climbing a lot more regularly with my mom who he also dragged along. She became my climbing partner and I don’t know many people who can call their mom their climbing partner and I think that’s pretty inspiring.
Favourite climb you have done?
My favourite climb is still my first ever outdoor climb. It was at Silvermine - was either one of the Blaze of Glory or Main Crag routes. It’s quite an experience going from the stillness of indoor climbing to feeling the wind push against you while you’re trying to workout your next move and being at the mercy of the end of a rope and whoever is responsible for catching you at the bottom. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once - it’s a feeling that’s hard to imitate in life, but one I find to be pivotal and encourage everyone to go and experience at least once.
How do you keep your body and mind fuelled on long climbs?
In all my endurance sports I’ve always been very bad at fuelling my body - it’s almost when it knows it’s about to do something hard the thought of nutrition just shuts it down. My fuelling really happens before and after. I have a very strategic diet so that I don’t have to take any extra supplements, however I find a gel or two during the sport is manageable. I think it’s really my mind that keeps me going, in running and climbing. I almost switch into this auto pilot space. Everything goes quiet in my mind and my body just works on intuition. Once I’ve gotten to the point of extreme endurance it knows what to do.
Any tips for someone looking to get into climbing?
Be okay with failure. Be okay with trying the same problem again and again and again until one day it just clicks. I find climbing to be more of a mental challenge than physical, because training your muscles is easier than training your mind to trust them.
What does good energy mean to you?
Good energy to me is the company you keep and the headspace you’re in. Yes most climbs you’re physically doing it alone, but it’s not without at least one person below you who is supporting you whether it’s physically while you’re hanging on the edge of a rope or emotionally with words of encouragement. Often having someone believe in your abilities motivates you to believe in yourself as well. The climbing community is great like that, the amount of times I’ve had people I don’t know shout words of encouragement or give me notes is amazing. I think this good energy environment is super important when it comes to a sport like climbing, because if you doubt yourself then there’s a high risk of injury. You also need to leave your ego at the mat, if you’re approaching problems with a negative mind then you’re never going to solve them. Climbing is so technical. As much as it requires physical strength, the clearer your mind is, the clearer the solutions are to where to place your hand or foot next.
Climbing with @pascaleschoeman shot by @rubenschmitz